Lesson summary: introduction to geography as a science. Lesson summary "Geography as a science"

Methods of geographical research - methods of obtaining geographical information. The main methods of geographical research are:

1) Cartographic method. Map, by figuratively one of the founders of the Russian one - Nikolai Nikolaevich Baransky - is the second language of geography. The map is a unique source of information! It gives an idea of the relative position of objects, their sizes, the degree of distribution of a particular phenomenon, and much more.

2) Historical method . Everything on Earth develops historically. Nothing appears on empty space, therefore for knowledge modern geography knowledge of history is necessary: the history of the development of the Earth, the history of mankind.

3) Statistical method . It is impossible to talk about countries, peoples, natural objects without using statistical data: what is the height or depth, area, reserves natural resources, population, demographic indicators, absolute and relative indicators production, etc.

4) Economics and mathematics. If there are numbers, then there are calculations: calculations of population density, mortality and population, balance, GDP per capita, etc.

5) Geographical zoning method. Identification of physical-geographical (natural) and economic regions- one of the research methods of geographical science.

6) Comparative geographical. Everything is subject to comparison:
more or less, profitable or unprofitable, faster or slower. Only comparison allows us to more fully describe and evaluate the similarities and differences of certain objects, as well as explain the reasons for these differences.

7)Field research and observation method. Geography cannot be studied only while sitting in classrooms and offices. What you see with your own eyes is the most valuable geographical information. Description geographical objects, collecting samples, observing phenomena - all this is the factual material that is the subject of study.

8) Remote sensing method. Modern aerial and space photography are great assistants in the study of geography, in the creation, in the development national economy and nature conservation, in solving many problems of humanity.

9) Geographic modeling method. Creating geographic models is an important method for studying geography. The simplest geographical model is.

10) Geographical forecast. Modern geographical science must not only describe the objects and phenomena being studied, but also predict the consequences that humanity may come to in the course of its development. Geographic forecast helps to avoid many undesirable phenomena, reduce negative impact activities in nature, rational use of resources, decision.

Lesson #1

"Geography as a Science"

We are starting to study a new subject called geography.

What geography studies and how this science arose - you will learn in our lesson.

We live on an amazing beautiful planet- Earth, we are surrounded by a huge and complex world which we consider our home. What do we know about our planet Earth? By what laws does the nature that surrounds us develop and maintain balance?

Geography for a long time was engaged in describing nature earth's surface and the population of individual countries. Travelers discovered new lands and seas; it took several millennia to describe the earth's surface and draw up geographical maps.

So, GEOGRAPHY is a science that studies the surface of the earth as the environment where humanity arose and is developing. The name of this science was given by the ancient Greek scientist Eratosthenes. In Greek “Ge” means Earth, “grapho” means I write.

- Guys, why do we need geography?

The importance of information in our time has increased even more: modern world became almost “one”. The networks of the Internet and telephones entangled him in their invisible web, and main factor success in any business is knowledge of information.

What kind of information for modern man and will geography help each of you personally? What is important to all of us?

Firstly, knowledge of the processes of development of nature and the economy. This will answer many questions.

How does our nature “live”?
Why do natural conditions and types of human activities differ in different countries and regions?
Where are goods sent from your city or region and where are they brought to you from?
How will the nature and economy around you change?
What awaits man and our entire Earth in the near and distant future?

Secondly, practical questions that everyone has to deal with in everyday life.

Which road is best to get to your friend’s dacha? What is the best route to take for your summer vacation?
Is it convenient to call your grandfather in Novosibirsk from Moscow at 9 pm?
What time of year is best to travel, for example to India or Thailand?
Where does the food on the table come from at home, and what country do our home appliances come from?

Thirdly, choice of profession. Military personnel, pilots and sailors are required to know the geographical map well. Geologists - rocks. Builders - features of the surface and soil of the site being built. Entrepreneurs - features of the location of enterprises and connections between them. Tourism business workers are all about different countries and regions.

GEOGRAPHY HELPES US SEE THE IMAGE OF THE WORLD AND ORIGINATE IN IT.

What are the tasks and methods of the science of geography?

Geography is a science not only about the location of geographical objects. She studies nature and society - the people who lead joint activities who created civilizations and states.

GEOGRAPHY - SCIENCE answers the questions: What? Where? Why? What are the tasks and methods of the science of geography?

Description: where everything is, how it lives, how it develops

Explanation: why does this happen?

Forecast: what will happen in a day, a month, a year, 10 years?

Control: how to make it so...

Each science has its own research methods (a research method is a method, a path of knowledge).

There are methods that are used in a variety of sciences:

logical,
historical,
mathematical method,
observation methods,
modeling, etc.

That's what they're called - general scientific ones. All of them are actively used in modern geography.

But there are also ways of knowledge that originated in geography itself - the methods of geographical science.

The oldest of them is comparative-descriptive method. A person describes some area that is new to him and compares it with one that he already knows. Has long been used in geography expeditionary method- research directly on the ground.

The most important method in geography is cartographic. Scientists first map objects or phenomena, and then study ready-made maps. The map gives a lot of information, and you need to learn how to read it correctly. This is an amazing work created by Man. We will also use many of the research methods when studying the geography of the Earth.

DESCRIBING, EXPLAINING, OBSERVING AND PREDICTING PROCESSES ARE THE TASKS OF THE SCIENCE OF GEOGRAPHY. FOR THIS, THERE ARE GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH METHODS.

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Geography is a science (more precisely, a system of natural and social sciences) that studies the functioning and evolution of geographic envelope, interaction and distribution in space individual parts and components - for the purposes scientific justification territorial organization of society, distribution of population and production, effective use natural resources, preserving the human environment, creating the foundations of an environmentally friendly strategy sustainable development society. The word "geography" comes from the Greek. ge - m - “earth” and “grapho” - writing. The most important subject geographical study- processes of interaction between man and nature, patterns of placement and interaction of components of the geographical environment and their combinations at the local, regional, national level. (state), continental, oceanic, global levels. The complexity of the object of study led to the differentiation of a single geography into a number of specialized scientific disciplines, which gives reason to consider modern geography as a complex system of sciences, in which natural (physical-geographical), social (socio-geographical and economic-geographical) sciences, applied geographical sciences and geographical sciences of an integral (borderline) nature are distinguished. Physical geography includes integrated sciences about the geographic envelope as a whole: geoscience (general physical geography), landscape science (regional physical geography), paleogeography (evolutionary geography). In the process of the long development of geography, special sciences about the components of the geographical envelope were formed - geomorphology, geocryology, climatology and meteorology, hydrology (subdivided into land hydrology, oceanology, limnology), glaciology, soil geography, biogeography. Socio-economic geography includes general sciences: social geography and economic geography, as well as geography of the world economy, regional socio-economic geography, political geography. Particular socio-geographical sciences: industrial geography, geography agriculture, geography of transport, geography of population, geography of services. Integral geographical sciences include cartography, regional studies, historical geography. System development geographical sciences led to the formation of applied geographical sciences and directions - medical geography, recreational geography, military geography, etc. They also perform connecting functions between geography and other scientific disciplines. The desire to identify general geographic patterns in the development of all or many components of the geographical envelope and to model them led to the formation theoretical direction in geography. Geography as a system of sciences was formed not by the convergence of geographical sciences that emerged in isolation, but through the autonomous development of a once unified geography and its division into specialized scientific disciplines - according to components, their combinations, levels of research and degree of generalization, targets and practical needs. Therefore, all special geographical sciences, no matter how far they diverge from each other, have retained common features geographical approach (territoriality, complexity, specificity, globality) and general specific language science - map. During its development, geography was not isolated from other scientific disciplines. As a worldview science, it is closely connected with philosophy and history; when studying natural ingredients geographical shell, the connections of geography with physics, chemistry, geology and biology were strengthened, and in the study of the sociosphere - with economics, sociology, demography, etc. In turn, geography enriches with its theory and methodology related sciences; there is a process of geographicalization scientific knowledge, expressed, in particular, in the emergence at the intersections of geography with other sciences of such dynamically developing scientific directions, like ecology, demogeography, ethnic geography, district planning, regional economy. Methodology of geographical research is complex system, including: general scientific approaches and methods (mathematical, historical, environmental, modeling, systems, etc.); specific scientific approaches and methods (geochemical, geophysical, paleogeographical, technical and economic, economic and statistical, sociological, etc.); working techniques and operations for obtaining information (balance sheet method; remote methods, including aerospace; laboratory methods, eg. spore-pollen analysis, radiocarbon dating; survey; sampling method, etc.); methods of empirical and theoretical generalization of information (indicative, evaluative, analogues, classification, etc.); methods and techniques for storing and processing information (on electronic media, punched cards, etc.). Special Feature geography - obtaining, generalizing and disseminating knowledge about our planet and the patterns of its natural-historical development, about countries, regions, cities, localities and the peoples inhabiting them, about the history of the discovery and exploration of the world, about understanding it with the help of space means. An important aspect universal human culture for centuries have been geographical discoveries, which have not stopped to this day. Geographical and cartographic knowledge is an indispensable element general education; Geography is taught in primary and secondary schools. schools all over the world. geographical science natural

Geography is one of ancient sciences. In the process of development, its content, as well as the very concept of geographical discovery, changed repeatedly. For centuries ch. The content of geography was the discovery and description of new lands and ocean spaces. The tendency to record individual phenomena on the Earth's surface led to the development of regional studies and regional approaches. At the same time, the desire to identify and explain their similarities and differences, to combine them into similar categories, and to classify laid the foundations for general, or systemic, geography. Already the ancient Mediterranean civilization was characterized by fundamental achievements in geography. The initial attempts at a natural scientific explanation of geographical phenomena belong to the ancient Greek. philosophers of the Milesian school Thales and Anaximander (6th century BC); Aristotle (4th century BC) introduced the idea of the sphericity of the Earth; Eratosthenes (3rd-2nd centuries BC) quite accurately determined the circumference globe, formulated the concepts of “parallels” and “meridians”, introduced the term “geography”; Strabo (1st century BC - 1st century AD) summarized regional knowledge of geography in 17 volumes; Ptolemy (2nd century AD) in his “Manual of Geography” laid the foundations for constructing a map of the Earth. In the Middle Ages, the Arab scientists-encyclopedists Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, and the traveler Ibn Battuta played a significant role in the development of geography. The Age of Discovery expanded horizons scientific thinking and established ideas about the integrity of the world. In the 17th-18th centuries. Along with the continuation of geographical discoveries and descriptions of the Earth, the theoretical activity. B. Varenius in “General Geography” (1650) and I. Newton in “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” (1687) laid the foundations of physical thinking in geography. M.V. Lomonosov in the middle 18th century was the first to express the idea of the role of the time factor in the development of nature and introduced the term “economic geography” into science. Generalization of data from field expeditions led the German naturalist A. Humboldt (1845-62) to classify the Earth’s climates, justify latitudinal zonality And vertical zonality; he became a herald integrated approach in geography. In the 2nd half. 19th century The ideas of geographical determinism, which argued that geographical factors play decisive role in the socio-economic development of peoples and countries. With increasing human impact on the environment, these ideas are losing their appeal; now their echoes are preserved in environmentalism. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. the concepts of geographical possibilism arose, based on the recognition of the diversity of forms of human interaction with a homogeneous passive environment, and the teaching of A. Getner about geography as a “chorological science” that studies mainly. only spatial relationships of objects and phenomena on the earth's surface, without delving into the study of the inner essence of these phenomena and their development. At the same time, in the works of V.I. Vernadsky, the planetary role was substantiated anthropogenic factor; he argued that the transformation of the biosphere under the influence of conscious human activity will lead to the formation of the noosphere. Development of geography in the end. 19-20 centuries associated with the names of K. Ritter, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, A.I. Voeikova, F. Richthofen, D.N. Anuchina, V.V. Dokuchaeva, A.A. Grigorieva, L.S. Berga, S.V. Kalesnika, K.K. Markova, V.B. Sochavy, V.N. Sukacheva, N.N. Baransky, I.P. Gerasimova. Specifics of the development of geographical science in the 20th century. was determined to a large extent by the traditions of the national schools such as French school human geography with its stable social orientation; German school with traditions of in-depth theoretical analysis, regional planning and geopolitics; Anglo-American and Swedish school theoretical geography and widespread use quantitative methods. The Russian geographical school was formed under the influence of the teachings of Dokuchaev on natural zones, Vernadsky on the role of living matter in the formation of the modern nature of the Earth and its evolutionary-staged development, Grigoriev on the geographical envelope and its dynamic processes, Berg on landscape structure earthly nature, Baransky on the geographical division of labor as a spatial form social division labor and objective nature formation of economic districts. In con. 20th century symptoms appeared on Earth ecological crisis: desiccation and erosive destruction of the territory, deforestation and desertification, depletion of mineral reserves, pollution environment. The anthropogenic contribution to the turnover of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur has become equal to the natural one, and in some places has begun to prevail over it. A significant part of the land surface is irreversibly transformed by humans. Increasing globalization in the world, along with positive trends, is widening the gap between poor and rich countries, exacerbating old ones and giving rise to new ones. global problems humanity. All this poses corresponding tasks for geography: studying the dynamics of natural, socio-economic and geopolitical processes, forecasting global and regional socio-economic and political situations, developing recommendations for environmental protection, the optimal design and functioning of natural and technical systems in order to increase human safety existence and quality of life of people. Special role This approach plays into ecology and environmental science, which is formed at the intersection of physical and socio-economic geography with economics and technology. With enormous integration potential, geography unites the most different industries knowledge and research methods to help solve the most important problem of our time - to ensure sustainable socio-economic development of both all humanity and individuals, no matter what country in the world they live in.

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Plan:

1 History of Geography
- 1.1 Geography of the Ancient East
- 1.2 Ancient Mediterranean geography
- 1.3 Geography of the Middle Ages
- 1.4 Age of Discovery
- 1.5 Age of Expeditions
- 1.6 Scientific expeditions and theoretical openings XIX- early 20th centuries
2 Geographical discoveries
3 Map as the basis of geographical research
4 Geographical picture of the world and geographical culture
5 System of geographical sciences
- 5.1 Physical geography
- 5.2 Socio-economic geography
6 Personalities
7 Main geographical problems
8 Major geographical discussions

Introduction

Geography: (ancient Greek γεωγραφία , land description, from γῆ - Earth and γράφω - I write, I describe)

a unified set of sciences that study the geographic envelope of the Earth and focus on identifying spatiotemporal patterns. The main objects of study of geographical sciences are the geosphere (biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and soil cover) and geosystems (landscapes, natural areas, biogeocenoses...)
a body of knowledge about the spatiotemporal features of any territory, object, phenomenon or process (geography of continents and oceans, geography of Russia, geography of the tundra, geography of the spread of bird flu, geography of karst processes in the N region)

Physical World Map (Medium) (Large 2 MB)

The object of study of geography is the laws and patterns of placement and interaction of components of the geographical environment and their combinations on different levels. Complexity of the research object and breadth subject area led to the differentiation of unified geography into a number of specialized (branch) scientific disciplines that form the system of geographical sciences. Within its framework, natural (physical-geographical) and social (socio-economic) geographical sciences are distinguished. Sometimes geographic cartography is distinguished separately as a separate geographical discipline.

Geography is one of the most ancient sciences. Many of its foundations were laid in the Hellenic era. This experience was summarized by the outstanding geographer Claudius Ptolemy in the 1st century AD. e. The heyday of the Western geographical tradition occurs during the Renaissance, which is marked by a rethinking of the achievements of the late Hellenistic era and significant achievements in cartography, which are usually associated with the name of Gerhard Mercator. The foundations of modern academic geography in the 1st half of the 19th century were laid by Alexander Humboldt and Karl Ritter.

1. History of geography

1.1. Geography of the Ancient East

Already in 2 thousand BC. e. V Ancient Egypt Expeditions were prepared to the center of Africa, along the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The settlement of peoples, wars and trade expanded people's knowledge of the surrounding spaces and developed the skills of orientation by the Sun, Moon and stars. Dependence of agriculture and livestock breeding on river floods and other periodic natural phenomena determined the appearance of the calendar.

In the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. representatives Harappan civilization(in the territory of modern Pakistan) the monsoons opened. Elements of geography are contained in the sacred ancient Indian books: in the Vedas an entire chapter is devoted to cosmology, in the Mahabharata you can find a list of oceans, mountains, and rivers. Already IX-VIII centuries BC. e. V Ancient China when choosing a place to build a fortress, maps of suitable sites were drawn up. In the 3rd century BC. e. essays appear entirely devoted to geography, a compass and a device for measuring distance, and the “Regional Atlas” of China.

1.2. Ancient Mediterranean geography

Map of the world made by Ptolemy

The pre-Socratic philosophical tradition has already given rise to many prerequisites for the emergence of geography. Anaximander proposed that the Earth was shaped like a cylinder, and made the revolutionary assumption that people should also live on the other side of the “cylinder”. He also published individual geographical works.

In the 4th century. BC e. - V century n. e. Ancient encyclopedist scientists tried to create a theory about the origin and structure of the surrounding world, to depict the countries known to them in the form of drawings. The results of these researches were the speculative idea of the Earth as a ball (Aristotle), the creation of maps and plans, the definition geographical coordinates, introduction of parallels and meridians, map projections. Crates of Mallus, a Stoic philosopher, studied the structure of the globe and created a model of the globe, suggested how the relationship should be weather conditions northern and southern hemispheres.

“Geography” in 8 volumes of Claudius Ptolemy contained information about more than 8000 geographical names and coordinates of almost 400 points. Eratosthenes of Cyrene was the first to measure the meridian arc and estimate the size of the Earth; the term “geography” (land description) also belongs to him. Strabo was the founder of regional studies, geomorphology and paleogeography. Aristotle's works set out the foundations of hydrology, meteorology, oceanology and outlined the division of geographical sciences.

1.3. Geography of the Middle Ages

Until the middle of the 15th century. the discoveries of the Greeks were forgotten, and the “center of geographical science” shifted to the East. The leading role in geographical discoveries passed to the Arabs. These are scientists and travelers - Ibn Sina, Biruni, Idrisi, Ibn Battuta. Important geographical discoveries in Iceland, Greenland and North America were made by the Normans, as well as by the Novgorodians, who reached Spitsbergen and the mouth of the Ob.

Marco Polo

The Venetian merchant Marco Polo discovered for Europeans East Asia. And Afanasy Nikitin, who walked along the Caspian, Black and Arabian seas and having reached India, he described the nature and life of this country.

1.4. Age of Discovery

XV-XVII centuries - the heyday of geography against the backdrop of a general rise in culture and science. Geography has become the most important science, enriched with information about the nature and population of almost the entire land, began to be divided into general and private. Mercator's map showed the actual outlines of the continents, and Leonardo da Vinci's map showed the hypothetical Southern continent. In Russia they created the “Big Drawing” Russian state in 1627.

Mercator's Map of Europe, 1554

1.5. Age of Expeditions

In the 17th-18th centuries, the search for new lands and routes was carried out on a state scale. Great value acquired fixation, mapping and generalization of acquired knowledge. The search for the Southern continent ended with the discovery of Australia (Janszoon) and Oceania. Three round the world expeditions James Cook made the discovery of Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef. Russian pioneers advanced to Siberia and the Far East.

M.V. Lomonosov created the Geographical Department in 1739, and under Catherine II he compiled the first land use cadastre. In addition, he proposed ideas about the continuous change in the face of the Earth under the influence of internal and external forces oh movement air masses, about the layers of the earth, etc.

Alexander von Humboldt, 1806

1.6. Scientific expeditions and theoretical discoveries of the 19th - early 20th centuries

Significant territorial discoveries were combined with deep theoretical generalizations and the discovery of geographical laws (Humboldt, Ritter, Reclus, Thunen). Geography was no longer limited to describing facts, but also tried to explain them. Applied geographical research is carried out and scientific geographical societies are created.

Formed in Russia: Russian geographical society, powerful geographical schools, whose representatives (F. P. Litke, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, N. M. Przhevalsky, P. A. Kropotkin, N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, A. I. Voeikov, V.V. Dokuchaev, K.I. Arsenyev) made a great contribution to the study of Eurasia and other regions of the world.

In 1884, the first department of geography was created at Moscow University by D. N. Anuchin.

2. Geographical discoveries

3. Map as the basis of geographical research

Satellite image of the Earth.

“Every geographical research starts from a map and comes to a map; it begins with a map and ends with a map” (N. N. Baransky). Despite the introduction of new methods into geography, the cartographic method is one of the main ones when conducting research. This is due to the fact that the card is the most perfect way of transferring spatial information. The modeling method in geography, geographic information and remote sensing methods are based on the cartographic method.

4. Geographical picture of the world and geographical culture

Geographical culture is most often understood as the culture of geography as a science. Culture geographical knowledge both geographers and the population. In his works “Geographical Culture” and “Geographical Picture of the World,” V.P. Maksakovsky examines these interrelated concepts from the perspective of modern geography. It includes the following components in geographic culture: 1) geographical picture of the world, 2) geographical thinking, 3) methods of geography, 4) the language of geography. Unfortunately, there is a gap between popular and scientific geographical culture, since society is mainly faced with descriptive geography and has no idea about the language and methods of modern geography.

5. System of geographical sciences

5.1. Physical geography

Object of study physical geography is the geographical envelope as a whole, its components natural complexes and components.

The basis of physical geography is general geoscience and landscape science. General Geography deals with the study of the patterns of the geographical envelope as a whole, landscape science studies landscape complexes.

Branch sciences:

Biogeography.
Climatology.
Geomorphology.
Hydrology.
Oceanology.
Glaciology.
Cryolithology.
Geography of soils.
Paleogeography.

5.2. Socio-economic geography

Socio-economic geography studies the territorial organization of society and is divided into four sectoral blocks (with their own sections:

Economic geography
Social geography
Political geography
Cultural geography
Historical geography

Regional studies and Geo-urban studies are disciplines devoted to a comprehensive description of individual territories and the study of problems of their development.

6. Personalities

Scientists who made a significant contribution to the development of geography as a science

Alexander von Humboldt, 1847

Carl Ritter

Walter Isard
Ivan Gavrilovich Alexandrov
Dmitry Nikolaevich Anuchin
Konstantin Ivanovich Arsenyev
Nikolai Nikolaevich Baransky
Lev Semyonovich Berg
William Bunge
Bernhard Waren
Alfred Weber
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky
Paul Vidal de la Blache
Alexander Ivanovich Voeikov (Sm.)
Alfred Goettner
Andrey Alexandrovich Grigoriev
Alexander von Humboldt
Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev
Karl Sauer
Anatoly Grigorievich Isachenko
Stanislav Vikentievich Kalesnik
Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolosovsky
Andrey Nikolaevich Krasnov
Walter Christaller
Gleb Maximilianovich Krzhizhanovsky
Vladimir Svyatoslavovich Kusov
August Loesch
Vladimir Pavlovich Maksakovsky
Gerhard Friedrich Miller
Fedor Nikolaevich Milkov
Lev Ilyich Mechnikov
Georgy Fedorovich Morozov
Vladimir Sergeevich Preobrazhensky
Friedrich Ratzel
Carl Ritter
Konstantin Alekseevich Salishchev
Veniamin Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky
Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky
Nikolai Adolfovich Solntsev
Nikolai Vladimirovich Sukachev
Strabo
Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev
Johann Heinrich von Thunen
Torsten Hagerstrand
Peter Huggett
David Harvey
Richard Hartshorne
Richard Chorley
Jean Jacques Elisée Reclus

Travelers who made significant discoveries (excluding scientific travelers)

Travels of Marco Polo

Vasco da Gama
Christopher Columbus
Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern
Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev
Afanasy Nikitin
Marco Polo
Thor Heyerdahl

7. Main geographical problems

Problems standing in the way of the development of geography and geographical sciences.

The problem of the unity of geography as a science and the search for a single object of research.
The problem of “theoretical geography” and philosophical foundations in geography.
The problem of "loss" practical sciences(land management, land reclamation, etc.) and public interest in geography.

8. Major Geographical Discussions

These discussions are still relevant in geography, play a huge role in geographical science and, perhaps, do not have a clear solution. Many of the geographical discussions centered around terminology, classification and other apparently formal constructs. However, terminology and classification are nothing more than a concentrated presentation of the theoretical views of scientists, and behind the discussion about the definition there are whole scientific schools, theories and hypotheses.

The definition of geography as a science, whether such a science exists, the subject of study of geographical sciences.
Definitions of the concept “geographical envelope”, the difference between the geographical envelope and the Earth’s geospheres.
Definition of the system of geographical sciences, the place of individual sciences in this system and their significance for other sciences.
The essence of geography as unified science and whether there is one, goals, objectives and the subject of studying geography.
Theoretical geography and whether there is such a thing, which science can be called theoretical geography or this separate discipline, whether there are general geographical theories.
The chorological approach in geography, its primacy in geographical studies, whether geography is a “pure” chorological science or should explore not only spatial patterns.
Definition of the concept “map”, the difference between a map and other models, the essence of the cartographic research method.
Definitions of the concepts “landscape”, “natural-territorial complex”, “geosystem”, whether a landscape objectively exists, the essence of physical-geographical zoning.
“Discreteness” and “continuity” of the geographical envelope

Literature

Mukitanov N.K. From Strabo to the present day: (Evolution geographical representations and ideas). - M.: Mysl, 1985. - 240 p. - 45,000 copies.
Strabo. Geography / Transl. from ancient Greek G. A. Stratanovsky, ed. O. O. Kruger, total. ed. S. L. Utchenko - M.: Ladomir 1994
Brown L.A. History of geographical maps. - M., Tsentropoligraf, 2006-480 p.
Clavijo, Ruy Gonzalez de. Diary of a trip to Samarkand to the court of Timur (1403-1406) / Trans. from Old Spanish, preface. and comment. I. S. Mirokova. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - 211 p.
Limnology and paleolimnology of Mongolia. Scientific articles/ Group of authors: Batnasan N., Dorofeyuk N. I., Dulmaa A. and others - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 1994. - 304 p.